Teofimo Lopez Denies Racism Accusations – ‘We’re All Racists’

Teofimo Lopez has denied accusations that he is a racist following his recent controversial comments.

Lopez is preparing to defend his WBO Junior Welterweight title against Arnold Barboza Jr. on May 2 at Times Square in New York City. It is the first card under Ring Magazine, making it a historic event. Lopez has been chasing the big fights since his win over Steve Claggett in his last bout. He was consistently linked with a fight against Terence Crawford, having called him out numerous times. But that fight will not go ahead, as Crawford will box Canelo Alvarez in September on Mexican Independence Weekend.

Lopez made a series of controversial remarks about Crawford in an attempt to stoke up some animosity to get the fight. He referred to Crawford and Gervonta Davis as monkeys and made references to a banana, resulting in strong criticism. Lopez also laughed at a clip of Keyshawn Davis accusing Denys Berinchyk of sending him a banana to his hotel room before their fight.

Davis Reacts

Berinchyk denied doing anything of the sort, raising rumors that Lopez may have done this. Keyshawn recently became the WBO Lightweight Champion with a win over Berinchyk. He has spoken about his desire to move up the weight classes to 140 and 147. This raised suggestions that he could eventually face off against Teo. Keyshawn was unhappy about the banana incident, as he ruled out a fight with Lopez. 

“I heard Teo did it. Teo, you’re trying to do everything to make yourself relevant. It’s the taxes that are killing him. So, he’s trying to cash out… Guess what? I ain’t fighting you. I’m not helping you out,” Davis stated 

Lopez Responds

Lopez recently addressed that tension with Crawford, as they appeared to have settled the feud. The Takeover made it clear that he only made those comments in order to try and promote a potential fight. That will likely harm his chances of getting the Crawford fight moving forward since it has divided a large section of the boxing fanbase. Lopez addressed the accusations of racism by stating that there are many differences which make people ultimately go against the human race. However, boxing fans were not convinced by his explanation, as they had plenty to say.

“We’re all racists, each one of us. Do you know why? Because we’re against the one true race that matters the most. The human race. We’re all divided, all of us. 10,000 religions all of us. We’re all black. I got an Africa tattoo. I got Africa right there. They said the first human being was a monkey named Lucy. I’m not racist. That’s not racist. It’s how you guys take it. A banana is potassium. You guys portray an item. You guys added a stereotype. All I did with the banana eating and laughing at it. You thought that I sent that stuff. I’m Not Racist,” Lopez said 

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